A High-Rise Community in Istanbul

NEF Ataköy 22 Mixed-Use DevelopmentIstanbul, Turkey

This transit-oriented, mixed-use development in the Ataköy neighborhood of Istanbul features a community designed around six high-rise towers.

Developed by NEF Real Estate, the six-block site includes five 18-story residential towers housing 1,500 apartment and micro-apartment units, and a separate 18-story office tower. A shared podium connects the high-rises with a street-level retail mall that promotes pedestrian activity. Public transportation stations are located at each end of the development.

Because the site sits higher in the north than the south, the design provides a multi-level entry that creates a retail-office bridge between the two main roads.

Limestone, glass-fiber-reinforced concrete panels and ribbon windows on the residential towers create a modular, undulating facade that accentuates the organic flow of the development and provides sunshading and visual harmony. Contrasting this curvilinear form, the podium-level garden apartments are housed in a faceted, zigzag massing that unifies individual tower blocks.

The towers are designed around a central square, allowing natural ventilation and light to the lower levels of the podium. Composed of unique gardens and pavilions, this multi-level linear courtyard promotes activity throughout the development. Bridges and walkways facilitate circulation and a sense of community.

Private residential terraces, plazas and roofscapes add garden spaces that provide visual continuity. Diverse residential amenities emphasize the social aspect of high-density living with a focus on entertainment and health — from private cinemas to basketball courts.

Building information modeling tools helped the design team maximize efficiencies. During the design phase, high market demand for residential units required one of the six towers originally designed for commercial office use to be redesigned as a residential tower in a compressed timeframe. The team also streamlined the constructability of the curvilinear concrete spandrel panels on four of the residential towers by devising a modular system that used a limited number of molds to create the complex forms seen throughout the development.